Pedophile prof shared his fantasies
Benjamin Levin exchanged photos, description of kids with U.K. man, court hears
The lines between fantasy and reality were in question Monday at a sentencing hearing for a former deputy education minister on child pornography charges.
A packed Finch Ave. courtroom heard that Benjamin Levin, 63, had a “pedophilic interest” in adolescents and made a trip to Amsterdam to meet up with a British father who previously exchanged photos and sexual descriptions of children with him.
Though forensic psychologist Julian Gojer insisted there was no proof that any child was involved with their meetup, Crown co-counsel Patricia Garcia argued that it and discussions of oral, vaginal, anal and sado-masochist acts demonstrated fantasy transcending into reality.
Clayton Ruby, Levin’s lawyer, vehemently argued it was merely fantasy and even noted that overseas police executed an investigation into the British man, against whom they laid no charges.
“We perv together,” Garcia read from a conversation in incest chat rooms between the British man and Levin, who pleaded guilty to three of seven charges last month.
In other online exchanges, there was talk of anal penetration, bondage and threesomes. Levin, a former member of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s transition team, sent and received photos — one of a young girl in a school uniform, who he said he found “very arousing.”
Meanwhile, Garcia said he kept a “long, rambling” spreadsheet documenting the names, genders and ages of children and predilections of those interested in abusing them.
“Some were so egregiously ridiculous that he could see through them,” Gojer pointed out, adding that Levin noted which ones had an air of inauthenticity to them, making them potential fakes.
Garcia suggested that was because Levin was only interested in “authentic, realistic and legitimate” interactions.
Gojer, who was first called to the stand by the defence, agreed. “The more realistic it looked, the more exciting it became,” he said.
But the real question, said Gojer, was “how much of it is fantasy and how much of it is reality?”
According to Gojer, Levin told him during an assessment, “it’s all fantasy . . . as long as they were fantasies, no one was being hurt.”
As Gojer repeated those words, Levin, clad in a grey suit, scribbled down notes on a yellow legal pad, sometimes looking down and rubbing his hand across his forehead. His demeanour was the same when the court heard that he shared the name and ages of his wife and children and other details about their family in his chat room profile and conversations.
Earlier in the day, Ruby distributed a statement saying Levin was “deeply ashamed” of his actions.
He noted that of the roughly 2,000 pornographic images found on Levin’s computer, only 14 images and two videos were considered child pornography. That ratio, Gojer said, indicates a less rampant interest in child pornography.
Whether the judge presiding over the case agrees has yet to be determined. She’s expected to release a sentence later this week. The sentencing continues Tuesday.